Judith Annabel Leventon (born 20 April 1942 in

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

) is an English actress who has acted in various roles on stage and television. While reading English at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

she made several appearances at the

Oxford Playhouse The Oxford Playhouse is a theatre designed by Edward Maufe and F. G. M. Chancellor. It is situated in Beaumont Street, Oxford, opposite the Ashmolean Museum. History The Playhouse was founded as ''The Red Barn'' at 12 Woodstock Road (Oxford), W ...

and toured France as

Desdemona Desdemona () is a character in William Shakespeare's play ''Othello'' (c. 1601–1604). Shakespeare's Desdemona is a Venice, Italy, Venetian beauty who enrages and disappoints her father, a Venetian senator, when she elopes with Othello (char ...

in the

Oxford University Dramatic Society The Oxford University Dramatic Society (OUDS) is the principal funding body and provider of theatrical services to the many independent student productions put on by students in Oxford, England. Not all student productions at Oxford University a ...

's production of ''

Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...

''. She then joined the Fourbeats pop group, played at the

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of Arts festival, arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the ...

and continued in various other

OUDS The Oxford University Dramatic Society (OUDS) is the principal funding body and provider of theatrical services to the many independent student productions put on by students in Oxford, England. Not all student productions at Oxford University a ...

productions. On obtaining her BA she gained a grant to

LAMDA The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) is a drama school located in Hammersmith, London. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles and a founding member of the Federation of Drama Schools. In ...

and made her professional stage debut in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

. In December 1967 she left for America where she joined Tom O' Horgan's '' La MaMa'' troupe in New York and worked with them for seven months before returning to Britain. She was in the original London cast of ''

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and ...

'' in 1968 at the

Shaftesbury Theatre The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden. It opened in 1911 as the New Prince's Theatre, with a capacity of 2,500. The current capacity is 1,416. The title "Shaftesbury Theat ...

, also directed by O'Horgan. She went on to direct and appear in the show in Paris. She also appeared in the original London production of ''

The Rocky Horror Show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' is a Musical theatre, musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien. A humorous tribute to various B movies associated with the Science fiction film, science fiction and Horror film, horror genres from the 193 ...

''. Her first TV appearance was in ''The White Rabbit'' in 1967, and she went on to appear in a number of long-running series over the next four decades. Her film credits include roles in '' Come Back Peter'' (1969), '' Le Mur de l'Atlantique'' (1970), '' Every Home Should Have One'' (1970), ''

The Rocky Horror Picture Show ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' is a 1975 independent musical comedy horror film produced by Lou Adler and Michael White, directed by Jim Sharman, and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The screenplay was written by Sharman and Richard O ...

'' (1975), ''

Shock Treatment ''Shock Treatment'' is a 1981 American musical comedy film directed by Jim Sharman, and co-written by Sharman and Richard O'Brien. It is a follow-up to the 1975 film ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show''. While not an outright sequel, the film does ...

'' (1981), ''Real Life'' (1984), ''

Defence of the Realm ''Defence of the Realm'' is a 1986 British political thriller film directed by David Drury, starring Gabriel Byrne, Greta Scacchi, and Denholm Elliott, with Robbie Coltrane in a minor role. The film takes its title from the Defence of the R ...

'' (1986), ''

M. Butterfly ''M. Butterfly'' is a play by David Henry Hwang. The story, while entwined with that of the opera '' Madama Butterfly'', is based most directly on the relationship between French diplomat Bernard Boursicot and Shi Pei Pu, a Beijing opera sin ...

'' (1993), ''

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

'' (2004) and '' A Royal Night Out'' (2015). In 2013, Leventon appeared in the role of Constance, the Madwoman of the Flea Market, in the British premiere of

Jerry Herman Gerald Sheldon Herman (July 10, 1931December 26, 2019) was an American composer and lyricist, known for his work in Broadway theatre. One of the most commercially successful Broadway songwriters of his time, Herman was the composer and lyricist ...

's ''Dear World'' at the Charing Cross Theatre, London. In 2023, Leventon appeared in the role of Edith Tellmann in the British premiere of

Bjørg Vik Bjørg Vik (11 September 1935 – 7 January 2018) was a Norwegian novelist, short story writer, playwright, and journalist. Biography Bjørg Turid Vik was born in Oslo, Norway. Her parents were Sverre Thorbjørn Johansen (1903–1958) and Anna ...

's The Journey to Venice at the

Finborough Theatre The Finborough Theatre is a fifty-seat theatre in the West Brompton area of London (part of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea) under artistic director Neil McPherson. The theatre presents new British writing, as well as UK and world p ...

, London. For this role, she was nominated for an Offie for Lead Performance in a Play. She is the author of ''The Real Rock Follies: The Great Girl Band Rip-Off of 1976'', released in 2017.

TV appearances

Discography

*'' Hair (Original London Cast Recording)'' 1968

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leventon, Annabel 1942 births English film actresses English musical theatre actresses English stage actresses English television actresses Living people